THOUSANDS more families in central and west Reading were this morning faced with the fear their homes will be hit by the cave-ins that devastated Field Road.

Almost 3,000 homeowners previously presumed unaffected by the collapsing chalk mines received hand-delivered invitations over the weekend to a meeting about the potential spread of the catastrophe.

Twenty-nine families were evacuated from Field Road when part of the street and two homes collapsed in January 2000. It was almost two years before they returned.

A study of Old Coley - looking for further mines - was carried out last year and the council has

continued to keep silent about its results.

But now around 2,800 families from an area at least three times larger than the study area have been invited to Friday's meeting at The Hexagon.

The council again refused to comment this morning about the findings of the study.

The letters to homeowners were delivered at least as far as homes next to the old Thames Water reservoir, almost half a mile down Bath Road from Field Road and down to Baker Street.

They came from project manager Ian Johnson who said: "...the full extent of the mines

outside this section of Field Road was not established during the first phase of investigations.

"Some people will be aware that the council has commissioned a mapping study of the wider area. This has now been completed."

It continued: "We will be presenting the findings of the mapping study and the council's proposals to investigate the full extent of the mines in the Field Road area."

It also asked tenants to pass the letter on to their landlords.

Chris Goodchild, who chairs the Old Coley Residents Association, was stunned at the number of people potentially affected by the mines.

Mr Goodchild learnt about the meeting from the Evening Post yesterday and he said: "That's a massive area. How far are they [the mines] going to go?

"That is concerning."

Minster ward councillor Paul Gittings had also not yet been told of the meeting yesterday and he added: "That's a fair distance.

"By no definition could [these new areas] be considered part of Old Coley. It is the first I have heard of any potential problems.

"I suspect they [council staff] are being diligent. I had not been told any investigations had brought up any problems that far away."

A council spokesman said around 2,800 letters had been sent.

He said: "It is to householders within the area of the mapping study that took place and also

outside, where people would have an interest in knowing the results."

Dozens of people were evacuated from Field Road in January 2000 when a hole opened up in the street.

More holes - one as deep as eight metres - continued to open up as a £5 million stabilisation project was started to fill in the mines beneath the terraced street.

Before it was finished last December, engineers began to map out the local area within the IDR, Castle Hill, Coley Avenue and Berkeley Avenue trying to find out how far the long-forgotten mine workings stretched.

The first report was given to senior council bosses at the end of last year and later referred to top legal counsel for advice.

Three months ago the Evening Post asked for the results of the study and its progress but the council refused to comment.

Mr Goodchild said the residents' association had also written to the council after the Evening Post story asking for an update around two months ago and had received no reply.

Despite fears of a blight, house prices in Field Road were back at market value six months after the stabilisation work was finished.